The last couple years I have seen electronic musicians in Japan and in other countries divide into two general camps, Camp Analog and Camp Everything. I have followed the debates here and on other sites and took great advice from a lot of far better informed people. So I thought I would like to share what I ended up with and maybe it will help others decide and find a great balance too.
Our considerations were.
1. Provide our studio with good sounding gear for classic electronic music genres, sound tracks, ethnic fusion, atmospheric/ambient and etherial music.
2. Provide gear that can be used live for our performances but is light enough to bring by train. (no car for us in Tokyo)
3. Keep it affordable (we are by no means rich. so every unit has to be useful and affordable) and we decided that buying as much of it second hand as possible was both ecological and cost saving.
4. Has to fit in a Tokyo sized bedroom, so small and limited space.
5. Have both Analog and Digital sounds and feeling available.
So here goes.
Digital Synths
Virus TI Desktop - (used) My go to for pads, atmospheres some arps. It is a versatile classic and will probably always be here even though we use it for limited reasons.
Waldorf Blofeld (1key+1desktop) - (One new one used.) So affordable in Japan second hand. We use it for just about everything since it is so flexible. Using one with my own patches and one factory/update patches when I just want something quick. The keyboard is heavy so in many ways I wish we had gone with a second desktop since we never take it to shows unless we are driven.(which is very rare)
Nord Lead 4 - (new) My baby. I love just playing this synth. It sounds great, it is fun to play. I use it for live since it looks great and is light to carry. It does vintage sounds great. Tied into a Strymon BigSky it rivals the Virus for pads. And the arps are great.
Novation Ultranova - (New) bought for taking out live. Powerful synth, but I rarely go to it for anything in the studio. But love it for live and it plays as my composition controller most of the time. May not survive in our space if we don't get more out of it.
Analog
Elektron Analog Keys - (pending) We have one on loan for a few week. I basically hate their unintuitive interface, we bought and sold an Octatrack before. But I like the sound and sequencer and many friends here swear by these units. If we buy this one it will be for live primarily for our electronic projects.
Waldorf Pulse 2. (used) Picked up second hand and love it. Why isn't this analog on the top of everyone's affordable list? It can generate very warm bass, wonderful pad and lead sounds. Married to a TC Electronic delay and reverb from our guitars it is magical and it is tiny. This and the Blofeld fit nicely in a guitar FX box along with the pedals and is easy to set up live.
Software
Omnisphere - have had this for years and LOVE IT. For soundtracks, pads and drones for our ethnic fusion work it is great.
Camel Audio Alchemy - Same reason as Ominsphere but for random sounds.
Studio Software = Logic Pro
Mobile Software = Ableton Live Lite - Mostly playing percussion clips or driving clock to our live gear.
So that is our set up. I hope it is interesting to someone considering tools for their system to blend analog, digital and software.
Our considerations were.
1. Provide our studio with good sounding gear for classic electronic music genres, sound tracks, ethnic fusion, atmospheric/ambient and etherial music.
2. Provide gear that can be used live for our performances but is light enough to bring by train. (no car for us in Tokyo)
3. Keep it affordable (we are by no means rich. so every unit has to be useful and affordable) and we decided that buying as much of it second hand as possible was both ecological and cost saving.
4. Has to fit in a Tokyo sized bedroom, so small and limited space.
5. Have both Analog and Digital sounds and feeling available.
So here goes.
Digital Synths
Virus TI Desktop - (used) My go to for pads, atmospheres some arps. It is a versatile classic and will probably always be here even though we use it for limited reasons.
Waldorf Blofeld (1key+1desktop) - (One new one used.) So affordable in Japan second hand. We use it for just about everything since it is so flexible. Using one with my own patches and one factory/update patches when I just want something quick. The keyboard is heavy so in many ways I wish we had gone with a second desktop since we never take it to shows unless we are driven.(which is very rare)
Nord Lead 4 - (new) My baby. I love just playing this synth. It sounds great, it is fun to play. I use it for live since it looks great and is light to carry. It does vintage sounds great. Tied into a Strymon BigSky it rivals the Virus for pads. And the arps are great.
Novation Ultranova - (New) bought for taking out live. Powerful synth, but I rarely go to it for anything in the studio. But love it for live and it plays as my composition controller most of the time. May not survive in our space if we don't get more out of it.
Analog
Elektron Analog Keys - (pending) We have one on loan for a few week. I basically hate their unintuitive interface, we bought and sold an Octatrack before. But I like the sound and sequencer and many friends here swear by these units. If we buy this one it will be for live primarily for our electronic projects.
Waldorf Pulse 2. (used) Picked up second hand and love it. Why isn't this analog on the top of everyone's affordable list? It can generate very warm bass, wonderful pad and lead sounds. Married to a TC Electronic delay and reverb from our guitars it is magical and it is tiny. This and the Blofeld fit nicely in a guitar FX box along with the pedals and is easy to set up live.
Software
Omnisphere - have had this for years and LOVE IT. For soundtracks, pads and drones for our ethnic fusion work it is great.
Camel Audio Alchemy - Same reason as Ominsphere but for random sounds.
Studio Software = Logic Pro
Mobile Software = Ableton Live Lite - Mostly playing percussion clips or driving clock to our live gear.
So that is our set up. I hope it is interesting to someone considering tools for their system to blend analog, digital and software.
An opinion on bancing a studio with analog and digital hardware and software.
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